Uber will hike minimum fares and slug passengers with an extra booking fee from next month so it can cover "operational costs".
The "ride sharing" service, which operates as an alternative to taxis, said drivers had been calling for minimum fare rates to be raised.
From June 9, passengers will also pay a 55?? booking fee on every trip to "assist with the operational costs associated with providing a ridesharing service", an Uber spokesman said.
Drivers will pass 50?? on to Uber and keep 5?? to remit to the Australian Tax Office as GST.
Uber already takes 20 or 25 per cent of the full fare, depending how long a driver has worked with Uber.
The minimum fare in Sydney will increase from $8 to $9, including the 50?? booking fee, and in Melbourne and Brisbane it will increase from $6 to $7.50. In Canberra, it will rise from $6 to $8.
???"We heard that an important improvement Uber could make to the driving experience would be increasing the minimum fare," the Uber spokesman said.
RideShare Drivers United, which represents Uber drivers, said the increase was a step in the right direction but a "minuscule one".
"Most drivers we talked to view this latest Uber increase as an insult and a slap in the face," the group said in a statement.
The base fare was still too low and left drivers with take-home pay below the minimum wage, RSDU said. It has called for a $9 minimum fare.
